Blog - Simply Social Media Solutions

Artcle by: Hubspot
Calls-to-action (CTAs) are one of the most critical inbound marketing tools. Whether they take the form of anchor text links, images, or buttons, CTAs are what motivate and direct your visitors to take a desired action, usually on Read more

I'm a big believer that you need to create strategies for your online and offline marketing integration in order to establish a unified message about your brand and capture audiences from every media source. It's not enough anymore to Read more

Once again Twitter has made some pretty substantial updates and one of them includes the new "look" to your profile, much like that of the Facebook Timeline.
Activating it is pretty simple and I'm going to show you how to Read more

Calls-to-action (CTAs) are one of the most critical inbound marketing tools. Whether they take the form of anchor text links, images, or buttons, CTAs are what motivate and direct your visitors to take a desired action, usually on a landing page. This could mean anything from registering for an event, downloading content and converting into leads, or encouraging prospects to move further down your marketing funnel toward sales-readiness.

But not all calls-to-action are effective at converting your visitors. And because we’ve worked with so many marketers over the years, we’ve seen our fair share of lackluster and underperforming CTAs in our day. So to help you get a handle on some of the most critical CTA best practices, this post — and the accompanying SlideShare — will uncover the good, the bad, and the ugly of calls-to-action, so you can learn what works (and what doesn’t) with CTAs.

1) DON’T use “submit” on your form buttons.

DO use valuable and actionable copy, such as “Download Now,” “Get Your Free Trial,” “Speak to an Expert,” or “Buy Now.”

Why? Think about it: No one likes to “submit” to anything. By stating the value of what the visitors will receive by clicking the button, you will reduce anxiety and friction and, thus increase clickthroughs.

2) DON’T hide your CTAs where no one can see them.

DO place your CTAs above and below the fold and within the visitor’s “eye path.”

Why? Calls-to-action are worthless if no one can see them! Don’t make the mistake of neglecting to position important calls-to-action front and center so visitors miss them altogether.

3) DON’T use the same or similar colors in your CTAs as the page’s background color.

DO use bold, contrasting colors in your CTAs so they don’t blend in with the page.

Why? If your CTA uses colors similar to those of the background — whether on a page, in an email, or within any other channel, it will blend into the page, making it difficult for visitors to notice. Simple as that!

4) DON’T use teeny, tiny CTAs that no one will notice.

DO make them big and bold.

Why? So they stand out! It’s important to make CTAs one of the bigger, more prominent objects on a page to increase the likelihood of clickthroughs.

5) DON’T make the design of your CTAs look flat.

DO make them look “clickable” and button-like by adding bevels, shadows, and hover effects.

Why? Online visitors are conditioned to recognize clickable elements like buttons and links. Use copy or design to indicate that visitors should “click here.”

6) DON’T use CTAs in the wrong place at the wrong time.

DO use CTAs that relate to the content on the existing page, or align with the buyer’s interests and needs.

7) DON’T be too wordy.

8) DON’T use vague, cliché, or passive language.

DO use compelling and actionable copy that conveys the value being offered.

Why? The most effective calls-to-action tell visitors what to do (e.g. click here, download now, get your XYZ). Use words that convey action so there’s no question about it.

9) DON’T oversell and under-deliver.

DO set the right expectations about what visitors will receive.

Why? Many calls-to-action make fake promises. Just think of decades’ worth of Mad Men type advertising. Visitors have high expectations that your CTA will deliver what’s promised.

10) DON’T link your CTAs to your homepage.

DO direct each CTA to its own dedicated landing page that restates the offer and copy from the CTA.

Why? A homepage is a dumping ground for all miscellaneous traffic. CTAs give you the opportunity to increase conversions by driving visitors from a particular channel or source to a specific landing page that is closely tied to the CTA. This reduces friction because visitors will know they landed in the right place. Bringing them directly to the homepage will make them feel lost and reduce the likelihood they’ll convert.

I’m a big believer that you need to create strategies for your online and offline marketing integration in order to establish a unified message about your brand and capture audiences from every media source. It’s not enough anymore to just promote your brick and mortar business offline, now-a-days, you need to grab your customers attention from every angle.

Cross promotion using a consistent brand message will solidify your reputation in the minds of your customers.

I ran across this article today that I thought would help drive this point home. Geoff Livingston, in his article, “4 Reasons Why Your Marketing Will Die Without Integration“, talks about how your traditional marketing media, such as direct mail and radio, is a starting point for creating conversions online. Integration of both online and offline marketing has a direct impact on your overall marketing results. Something that should NOT be ignored.

Once again Twitter has made some pretty substantial updates and one of them includes the new “look” to your profile, much like that of the Facebook Timeline.

Activating it is pretty simple and I’m going to show you how to do it step by step, but before I do, you should look at creating your new header. It must be 1252px x 626px and leave a space in middle where your profile picture will be. (see mine below)

A friend of mine recently posted an article about a new Twitter Widget that can be embedded in any website and increase your interactions directly from the widget. It allows your readers to reply, re-tweet, favorite, follow an account and view tweeted photos with its auto expand feature.

I decided to test this new Twitter widget out on my site right on the homepage (the location not permanent as we are re-vamping our site shortly) and sidebar. It’s versatile in that you can place it anywhere on your site without worrying about the width overlapping or messing up your layout. As well, the height, defaulted at 600px, is also adjustable.

If you’ve been on the fence about diving into mobile marketing for your business, the stats gathered by Cory Gaddis at Mobilize Worldwide should help you finally make that choice. In an article I was reading by Jamie Turner of the 60 Second Marketer, he shares the remarkable stats that will blow you away (and make you think!).

Maximize Your Online and Offline Marketing Efforts

You can build a website, dress it up and glam it out with all the bells n’ whistles, but if nobody knows it’s there, what good is it?I’m sure when you decided to start your offline business, you didn’t just make it all snazzy, open the doors and expect the crowds to run you down, did you? No. You had to make the effort to get your business out to the people, and the same holds true for your online marketing channels.

In this lens we created on Squidoo, we share a few ways you can cross-promote your offline and online business to maximize both and drive customers to your door (s).